This invention relates generally to absorbent garments, and more particularly to such absorbent garments having the appearance of conventional clothing and having a fit adjustment feature.
Personal wear garments and other articles find widespread use as personal care products including, without limitation, diapers, children's toilet training pants, disposable youth pants, adult incontinence garments, sanitary napkins and the like, as well as surgical bandages and sponges. The primary purpose of such articles is to take in and retain body exudates released by a wearer to thereby prevent soiling of the wearer's or caregiver's clothing. Certain absorbent articles are suitably disposable in that they are intended to be discarded after a limited period of use, i.e., the articles are not intended to be laundered or otherwise restored for reuse.
In particular absorbent articles such as children's training pants, various attempts have been made to make the pants more visually appealing, such as by applying certain graphics or other features which make the pants appear more like conventional clothing, and more particularly like conventional undergarments. Training pants represent an intermediate stage for a child between using diapers and using cloth underpants. By making the training pants more closely resemble the undergarments or other clothing that an older sibling or parent wears, it is believed that children ready for toilet training will be more amenable to wearing the training pants. In another example, some children require the use of nighttime disposable absorbent pants to address bed-wetting problems. Children requiring these absorbent pants generally desire the pants they are wearing to be as discreet as possible. Wearing an absorbent garment that resembles conventional clothing can be a significant benefit for such children.
One drawback to simply improving the external appearance of existing absorbent pants is that the entire pants must still be discarded after use. As a result, additional features which are added to entice children to wear the pants or otherwise conceal the absorbent look of the pants add further costs to making and using the pants. Moreover, clothes must still be worn over the absorbent pants, which can be uncomfortable and results in a rather bulky appearance. Also, to inhibit the leakage of exudates from absorbent articles such as training pants or other absorbent pants, it is important that the article fit generally snug against the wearer's body. For example, conventional training pants are constructed to provide a generally elastic fit about the wearer's waist and about the wearer's legs to inhibit leakage from the pants. However, many conventional garments that are worn about one's waist, such as certain styles of shorts, skirts, skorts, boxer shorts, swim trunks and the like, all have a more loose fitting appearance, particularly about the legs of the wearer. Moreover, because users of absorbent garments greatly vary in size and height, a means to more easily adjust the fit of conventional garments, particularly with respect to the rise of the garment and the positioning of the absorbent body against the wearer, is desired. Finally, it can in certain instances be useful to be able to remove and discard a soiled portion of a garment, but reuse a different portion of the garment.
Therefore a need exists for an absorbent garment that resembles conventional clothing, provides for an adjustable fit, and that in certain instances includes portions that are reusable.